Multi-bowl supporting table

ABSTRACT

A turntable, comprising two interfitting saucer-shaped members, for supporting a wide variety of types and sizes of mixing bowls in such a way that the axis of rotation of the turntable and the center line of the bowls are substantially coincident. The variety of bowls are retained on the turntable by means of a plurality of selectively slidable retaining elements which contact the outer surface of a bowl to maintain the bowl&#39;&#39;s alignment on the turntable. Rotation of one of the saucer-shaped members relative to the other compels the retaining elements to move radially inwardly or outwardly so as to adjust to a particular size bowl. Such movement of the elements results from a cam arrangement comprising a plurality of spiral grooves formed in one member of the turntable cooperating with corresponding pins on the retaining elements which move in guideways on the other member. Consequently, the retaining elements are moved, paripassu, radially inwardly or outwardly, thereby accommodating and retaining a particular bowl in proper position on the turntable.

United States Patent 11 1 Samuelian et al.

1 June 24, 1975 I MULTl-BOWL SUPPORTING TABLE [73] Assignee: General Signal Corporation,

Rochester, NY.

122] Filed: Apr. 15, 1974 [21] Applr No.: 461,053

[52] US. Cl. 248/131; 248/310; 248/349 [51] Int. Cl B011 9/10 [58] Field of Search 248/131, 45, 349, 310; 259/85, 84

I56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,912,287 5/1933 Lundcll 248/310 2,552,054 5/1951 Misic 259/85 2,643,864 6/1953 Graham ct a1... 248/349 2,880,951 4/1959 Springer 248/131 3,248,120 4/1966 Volpc 1 248/310 3,814,360 6/1974 Samuclian 248/131 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 621,570 6/1961 Italy 259/85 Primary ExaminerMarion Parsons, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmMilton E. Kleinman; John Ohlandt [57] ABSTRACT A turntable, comprising two interfitting saucer-shaped members, for supporting a wide variety of types and sizes of mixing bowls in such a way that the axis of rotation of the turntable and the center line of the bowls are substantially coincident. The variety of bowls are retained on the turntable by means of a plurality of selectively slidable retaining elements which contact the outer surface of a bowl to maintain the bowls alignment on the turntable. Rotation of one of the saucershaped members relative to the other compels the retaining elements to move radially inwardly or outwardly so as to adjust to a particular size bowl. Such movement of the elements results from a cam arrangement comprising a plurality of spiral grooves formed in one member of the turntable cooperating with corresponding pins on the retaining elements which move in guideways on the other member. Consequently, the retaining elements are moved, paripassu, radially inwardly or outwardly, thereby accommodating and retaining a particular bowl in proper position on the turntable.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures MULTI-BOWL SUPPORTING TABLE BACKGROUND, OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A frequently used and popular appliance in todays modern kitchen is the food mixer which is used for an assortment of jobs including mixing batter, beating eggs, whipping cream. mashing potatoes and a variety of other tasks. Depending upon the volume, quantity and type of item being mixed. the user may prefer to use a particular size, style and type of bowl. However, up to now, the choice has usually been restricted to the one or two bowls normally provided with the mixer. In use the selected bowl is customarily supported by a rotatable turntable. In order to provide uniform mixing, to prevent the rapidly revolving heaters from contacting the edge of the bowl and to prevent the bowl from being thrown from the turntable by centrifugal force, it is conventional to provide some sort of cooperative engagement between the bowl and the turntable so as to retain the bowl in such a position that the axis of rotation of the turntable and the center line of the bowl are substantially coincident. The most common technique involves the use of mating configurations between the turntable and the bowl for positioning the bowl. In the case of a glass bowl it is usually provided with a circular ring, or foot, on the base thereof, which mates with an annular groove formed in the turntable. This has, of course, meant that the bowl and the turntable must be designed to go together.

As indicated above, the mixer bowl and turntable must be mated with each other. That such is indeed the case has been discovered, to the users chagrin. when one of the bowls originally provided with the mixer has been broken and an ordinary bowl has been substituted. If the substituted bowl does not match the configuration ofthe turntable, it will not be held in a position such that its center line is coincident with the axis of rotation of the turntable. Consequently, the rotation of the turntable will tend to fling the substitute bowl from the turntable or otherwise cause much inconvenience for the housewife.

The bowls customarily provided with kitchen mixers are made of glass and therefore are subject to frequent breakage. In view of this fact housewives have re quested that stainless steel bowls be provided. However. ordinary stainless bowls are customarily formed from sheet metal of uniform thickness and therefore do not have the required ridge or ring necessary for mating with the grooves in a mixer turntable. One particular size of a flat bottomed stainless steel bowl could be used with one type of turntable mentioned above, that is, a turntable which has turned up edges so as to contact the outer surface of the bowl. However,'the same turntable would not properly secure a smaller flat bottomed steel bowl.

To overcome this limitation to some extent, another type of stainless steel bowl of two piece construction was developed and is in general use today. This consists of the usual flat bottomed bowl with a welded-on piece of circular shape having an annular ridge which mates with an annular recess in the turntable to provide coincident rotation. This type of bowl is expensive due to the precision required in manufacture of the parts, the nature of the welding operation. and the grinding and polishing required to give a presentable appearance to the finished product.

The present invention solves the aforementioned problems and permits the use of a variety of sizes, compositions and types of bowls. In effect, the present invention dispenses with the notion-of designing the turntable differently for the different types of bowls, that is, to have the customary grooves or'indentations for re ceiving bowls that are provided with ridges at their bottom surfaces. Accordingly all types and sizes of bowls are handled alike, the surface of the turntable which is contacted by the bowl being designed to have a substantially smooth surface, that is, without grooves or indentations. Moreover, the retaining means, that is to say, the selectively adjustable elements, are so arranged as to be capable of moving radially inwardly as far as necessary to accommodate an extremely small bowl and to move radially outwardly to accommodate a comparatively large bowl, all this irrespective of whether the bowl is flat bottomed or otherwise.

The selectively adjustable members of the cam means may be moved over a wide range in a continuous movement from a position very close to the axis of rotation to a point far from the axis and adjacentvto the outer periphery of the turntable. As a result a wide range of bowl sizes may be accommodated on the turntable. The selectively adjustable elements are normally permanently attached to one part of the turntable so that there is no possibility that they may be lost or misplaced and therefore they are instantly available for use when and if required.

From the foregoing summary of the essential features of the turntable ofthe present invention, it will have become evident that a primary object thereof is to provide an improved mixer turntable which will enable the retention of a variety of sizes and types of bowls irrespective of whether or not they include a mating ridge at the bottom of the bowl.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the present invention will be understood by reference to the following specification in conjunction with the annexed drawing, wherein like parts have been given like numbers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of the invention, particularly illustrating the relationship of a mixer, and a turntable with a mixing bowl mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partially broken away, of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a partial top plan view of an assembly similar to FIG. 1, but with a smaller bowl in position on the turntable.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a partial, enlarged sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing and for the moment particularly to FIGv I, there is shown therein a turntable 10 especially adapted for accommodating a variety of sizes and types of mixing bowls for use with a kitchen mixer. The turntable I0 is rotatably supported on a stand 12 which supports a motor housing designated 13 which in turn supports and rotates beaters 14. Supported on the turntable may be any one of a variety of mixing bowls such as the bowl 16, which is shown in full lines in FIG. I. It will be noted that the turntable 10 has been selectively oriented with respect to the stand 12 that the heaters 14 are adjacent to the center line or axis of rotation of the bowl 16. However, if desired, the turntable may be oriented further off-center to assure a more thorough mixing of the ingredients within the bowl 16.

The turntable 10 consists of two saucer-like members 18 and 20 whose cooperative interaction produces selective adjustment of retaining elements 22 so as to ac commodate a continuous range of bowl sizes on the turntable and to assure that each of these different size bowls is so retained that the center line of any bowl is aligned with the rotational axis of the turntable.

The saucer-shaped part 18 of the turntable is provided with a hub 24 for rotationally mounting the turntable 10 on a spindle 25 which is suitably journaled on stand 12. It will be understood that the spindle may be journaled on a platform (not shown) rather than directly on the bottom of the stand, such platform being arranged so that it can be variably oriented with respect to the stand so as to adjust the position of the turntable with respect to the beaters 14.

It will be appreciated from the figures that the upper part or member 20 of the turntable nests or fits within the upper part or member 18, such part 20 being provided with an annular ridge 26 adapted to be fitted within a corresponding groove 28 at the inner end of the hub 24. Member 18 is also provided with a series of spaced slots 30 which extend to the bottom wall of the member 18. These slots 30 are arranged each in a spiral configuration, that is to say, they progress inwardly as they extend circumferentially, whereby the member 18 is able to serve as a cam plate for the selectively adjustable means 22. Each of the selectively adjustable retaining means 22 is arranged for radial movement in appropriate guideways 32 formed at the upper surface of member 20, such upper surface 34 being the surface on which the various sized bowls rest.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, one of the retaining elements 22 is shown in enlarged views. This retaining element 22 is formed to have a horizontal leg 22A and an upstanding leg 228 which is slightly inclined from the vertical. Leg 228 terminates in an end portion which extends slightly in a horizontal direction and is then downturned. This end portion is adapted to fit the periphery 20B of the upper saucer-like member 20. Retaining element 22 is further provided with an annular pin 40, such pin being adapted to fit within one of the grooves 30 in the lower member 18 of the turntable.

It will be understood of course that indicated previously the members 18 and 20 nest or fit closely together. For this reason it is so arranged that the pins of the individual retaining element 22 are always situated within the respective slots 30.

Under the assumption that in operation the bowl 6 will begin to revolve, the turntable 10 on which the bowl rests will likewise begin to rotate or revolve. Both members I8 and 20 will revolve together, inasmuch as the pins 40 engage within the slots 30 to provide a coupling means between the two members. The retaining elements 22 are suitably adjusted to accommodate a particular how] such as the bowl [6 depicted in FIG. I,

the inclined legs 22B of each of the elements 22 abutting the periphery of the bowl, each of such legs being equidistant from the center line or axis of rotation of the turntable I0.

Adjustability of the retaining elements is effectuated by reason of the fact that the upper and lower members 18 and 20 may be rotated relative to each other. Such rotation is permitted because, as will be seen in FIG. 3, screw 27 and washer 29 are tightened against spindle 25, thereby leaving member 20 free to rotate. When it is desired to adjust the retaining elements, one of the tabs or fingers 21 on the upper member 20 is grasped by the fingers of the user's one hand, while the tab or index member 19 on the lower member 18 is grasped by the fingers of the other hand. Pressure on the index member 19 by the users one hand in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction while the other hand is used to resist such pressure, or hold the upper member in place, results in movement of the lower member 18 in the desired direction, that is, rotationally in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction as selected. Such desired movement of course encounters the resistance of the pins 40 to such movement. Accordingly, referring to FIG. 2 and then to FIG. 5, it will be seen that as the lower member 18 is moved in the clockwise direction. all the pins 40 will be com pelled to move radially inwardly by reason of the movement of the slots 30 which are carried by the member 18. Consequently, all of the retaining elements 22 are driven radially inwardly to the extent desired so as to accommodate a smaller bowl than previously had been used. On the other hand, if it should be the case that a larger bowl is to be used, the movement selected would be oppositely, that is, counterclockwise for the lower member 18 with the result that the retaining elements 22 would be moved, pari passu, to equidistant points from the axis of rotation of the turntable so as to accommodate the larger bowl,

While there has been shown and described what is considered at present to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications of such embodiment may be made. It is therefore desired that the invention not be limited to this embodiment, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A bowl-supporting turntable for a food mixer comprising in combination:

at least two interfitting or nesting saucer-shaped members mounted for rotation together on a com mon axis in response to rotation of a mixing bowl, the upper one of said members being provided with guideways at its inner surface:

a plurality of selectively adjustable retaining elements adapted to move continuously along said guideways in a radially inward or outward direction so as to contact. along the inner surface of the upper member. the periphery of a wide range of sizes of mixing bowls;

means for so moving all of said adjustable retaining elements concurrently in equal increments, said means comprising a plurality of spaced spiral grooves formed in the lower of said members and. in cooperative fitted relationship therewith, a cor- 3. The combination as defined in claim 2, further including a hub on the other member, and a spindle around which said hub is fitted.

4. The combination as defined in claim 3, further including a ridge on the one member adapted to fit in a corresponding groove in the hub of the other member.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4, in which said spindle extends through an opening in said one member, and further including a screw received within said spindle and a washer spanning said opening, said screw and washer abutting the top of said spindle. 

1. A bowl-supporting turntable for a food mixer comprising in combination: at least two interfitting or nesting saucer-shaped members mounted for rotation together on a common axis in response to rotation of a mixing bowl, the upper one of said members being provided with guideways at its inner surface; a plurality of selectively adjustable retaining elements adapted to move continuously along said guideways in a radially inward or outward direction so as to contact, along the inner surface of the upper member, the periphery of a wide range of sizes of mixing bowls; means for so moving all of said adjustable retaining elements concurrently in equal increments, said means comprising a plurality of spaced spiral grooves formed in the lower of said members and, in cooperative fitted relationship therewith, a corresponding plurality of pins or projections on the retaining elements; and means, at the peripheries of said nesting members, for rotating one of said members relative to the other so that said spiral grooves formed in the lower member compel the pins or projections on the retaining elements to move radially inwardly or outwardly.
 2. The combination as defined in claim 1, in which said means for rotating one member relative to the other includes a pair of graspable tabs on the one member and a single tab on the other member.
 3. The combination as defined in claim 2, further including a hub on the other member, and a spindle around which said hub is fitted.
 4. The combination as defined in claim 3, further including a ridge on the one member adapted to fit in a corresponding groove in the hub of the other member.
 5. The combination as defined in claim 4, in Which said spindle extends through an opening in said one member, and further including a screw received within said spindle and a washer spanning said opening, said screw and washer abutting the top of said spindle. 